The modern push for plain language emerged from the consumer rights movement of the 1970s. Since then, technological advances and intensified competition have dramatically transformed the consumer landscape, with consumers today faced with a wide and often bewildering array of complex products and services.

What can plain language practitioners contribute to the central goals of 21st century consumer policy: consumers who know their rights and are equipped to make good decisions? And what must governments and plain language advocates alike remember about the limits of information as a policy tool — particularly for vulnerable consumers?

Cognitive psychologists have done a great deal of work to investigate the effects of plain English and other types of fluency in a range of settings. With remarkable consistency, these studies have shown that people like things that are easy to understand. This research adds up to a compelling rationale for plain English writing and good document design.

Submission writing is bread and butter for people working in policy and research roles outside of government; I wrote dozens during my time in the consumer sector. But before I ever put pen to paper on my own submissions, I'd had the benefit of years reading them as a researcher working on parliamentary inquiries. This was a great help to me when it came time to write my own submissions - so here are my tips from the other side of the fence.